Garza Blanca Puerto Vallarta Wedding – The Complete 2026-2027 guide

If you want a resort where the jungle drops toward the Pacific, guests can actually get there without three connections, and your ceremony doesn’t feel like it’s happening on top of the pool bar, then a Garza Blanca Puerto Vallarta wedding is perfect for you.

Garza Blanca Preserve Resort & Spa checks those boxes. It sits on 85 acres of jungle and shoreline south of downtown, with serious food, a real spa, and ceremony spaces that don’t all look like the same white gazebo and folding chairs.

But the glossy photos don’t answer the hard questions:

• How much does a Garza Blanca wedding really cost once you add vendors and upgrades?
• Will your marriage be legally valid back home?
• Which venue makes sense for 60, 100, or 150 guests?
• And is Puerto Vallarta actually a good idea for your specific date and heat tolerance?

This guide walks you through logistics, costs, timelines, and onsite venues so you can decide if Garza Blanca Preserve Resort & Spa Puerto Vallarta is the right host for your destination wedding.

Why Choose Garza Blanca Puerto Vallarta for Your Destination Wedding

Garza Blanca Preserve Resort & Spa is a 5-star, optional all-inclusive resort about 40 minutes from Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR), and roughly a 15-minute drive from downtown’s boardwalk and church area. :contentReference[oaicite:54]{index=54}

In real-world terms:

• Close enough that airport transfers are straightforward for your group.
• Far enough that you’re not staring at a line of towers along hotel row.
• A setting where the Sierra Madre jungle runs right down to Banderas Bay.

You feel like you’ve left the city without sacrificing access to it.

Who Garza Blanca is ideal for

• Couples who want true luxury—spacious suites, strong food and beverage, and a spa you’ll actually use—not a discount all-inclusive.
• Groups with a mix of ages – Garza Blanca is family-friendly, while nearby sister property Hotel Mousai offers an adults-only vibe and extra restaurant options.
• Guest counts from about 30 to 150, depending on the venue you choose and how we structure the events.

Who might want to look elsewhere

• Couples expecting bar-hopping nightlife right outside the lobby.
• Very tight budgets; Garza Blanca lives in the luxury price tier and prices like it.
• Couples who insist on a traditional Catholic church inside the resort—Puerto Vallarta’s parish priests rarely allow that. You’ll use an offsite church instead.

Comparison: Ceremony Venue Options

Ceremony Types & How Your Marriage Will Be Recognized

Symbolic vs legal civil weddings at Garza Blanca

Most couples at Garza Blanca choose a symbolic ceremony (non-denominational, in English) overlooking the bay, then either:

• handle the legal civil marriage at home before travel, or
• arrange a civil ceremony in Puerto Vallarta with the local civil registry.

Mexico recognizes only civil ceremonies as legally binding. Religious and symbolic ceremonies feel real emotionally, but without the civil component, they are not legal.

A civil wedding in Jalisco generally requires:

• Passports and Mexican entry forms (FMM) for both of you.
• Apostilled and Spanish-translated birth certificates.
• Tourist permits or resident cards.
• Divorce decree or death certificate (if previously married).
• Four adult witnesses with valid ID.
• Blood tests (and sometimes chest X-rays) done in Mexico shortly before the wedding.

Requirements change, and Puerto Vallarta can add steps like a pre-marriage course through DIF and local civil forms.

So here’s my blunt advice:
Decide early—within the first month of planning—whether your legal marriage will happen in Mexico or at home. It drives your timeline, your appointments, and your document to-do list. Don’t leave this decision hanging while you argue over napkin colors.

Catholic & other religious weddings near Garza Blanca

For a valid sacramental Catholic wedding, Mexican dioceses (including Puerto Vallarta) almost always require that the ceremony take place in a parish church or chapel, not on the beach or a hotel terrace.

Here’s how Catholic couples typically handle a Garza Blanca wedding:

• Complete premarital preparation and paperwork with your home parish.
• Work with your priest to secure permission to marry in a parish in Puerto Vallarta.
• Hold the Mass and exchange of vows at that church.
• Host your cocktail hour and reception back at Garza Blanca.

The tricky part isn’t the Mass. It’s the paperwork, translations, and making sure both dioceses are satisfied. That’s exactly the kind of cross-diocese coordination we step in to handle so you’re not emailing random parish offices in Spanish at midnight.

Read more about Catholic Weddings in Mexico

Same-sex and multicultural ceremonies

Resort partners list Garza Blanca as welcoming same-sex, multicultural, and symbolic ceremonies along with legal civil weddings.

If you need a bilingual officiant or want to blend in cultural traditions (tea ceremony, lasso & arras, baraat, hora, etc.), we line up the right vendors and block enough time in the venue so those moments don’t get squeezed into a 10-minute cocktail gap.

Wedding Venues at Garza Blanca

Garza Blanca and its Tierra Luna area offer a bigger range of spaces than you’d expect from a property this size. Capacity numbers below come from the resort and specialist agencies.

Beach (Ceremony & Reception – up to ~150 ceremony / 100 reception)

• Best for: toes-in-the-sand ceremony, casual-elegant receptions, sunset photos.
• Listed capacity: up to 150 for ceremony, about 100 for reception and 200 for cocktail.

Everyone loves the idea of the beach. Not everyone loves the reality.

Consultant note on the beach: Puerto Vallarta doesn’t battle the heavy sargassum invasions you see on Mexico’s Caribbean side, but it’s still the ocean. You can see patches of seaweed, and from June–October the humidity and heat ramp up fast. Add in more frequent evening showers and you understand why I almost always insist on a covered back-up space—terrace or ballroom—written into your contract for any beach reception.

If the resort won’t commit to a specific backup plan in writing, that’s a red flag. We push for clarity before you pay deposits.

Orange Deck / Orange Tree (Ceremony & Reception – ~80–100)

This garden-style area, often styled with the iconic orange tree décor, works beautifully for:

• Intimate ceremonies around 50–80 guests.
• Receptions up to about 80–100 guests, depending on layout.

It feels tucked away and social—great for groups that want to talk and linger, not shout over a nightclub-level sound system.

Consultant note: The garden feel is lovely, but it can swallow sound. I strongly advise you schedule a quick AV test the day before—especially if older guests will be giving toasts. Nothing kills a speech like a mic that keeps cutting out or speakers pointed the wrong direction.

Tierra Luna Forum, Plazoleta & Deck

Tierra Luna is an elevated village-style area overlooking the bay.

• Tierra Luna Forum – up to ~200 for ceremony, ~100 for reception; dramatic open-air terrace with wide ocean views.
• Plazoleta – stone plaza with an Old-World feel; around 80 for reception, 100 for ceremony.
• Tierra Luna Deck / Tierra Luna Plazoleta – smaller deck and plaza options, great for rehearsal dinners or buy-outs around 50–100 guests.

I like Tierra Luna for couples who want big views but hate dealing with sand. Hard flooring is kinder to heels, décor installs, and dancing late.

So, is Tierra Luna worth the premium over the beach? For most of my groups who care about comfort and photos, yes.

Main Pool & Other Outdoor Spaces

The Main Pool can host up to about 300 for a ceremony and is sometimes used for large group events, with the infinity edge and bay as your backdrop.

Consultant note: Pool decks can look incredible on Instagram and feel brutal at 3 p.m. in August. If you want a poolside ceremony, I recommend a late-afternoon start and renting extra shade structures or parasols, especially between May and September. Also plan footwear—this surface can heat up.

Indoor backups – Red Room & Sierra Ballroom

For climate control or late-night parties, Garza Blanca offers:

• Red Room Ballroom – minimum 50, up to 120 guests for reception, 100 for cocktail.
• La Sierra – up to 200 for reception and usable until 3 a.m.

Here’s a pairing I often recommend:

• Beach or Forum ceremony
• Orange Deck or beach reception
• Sierra or Red Room as your contracted weather backup

Don’t leave the phrase “subject to availability” sitting in your contract without specifics. We tighten that language so you know exactly where your event moves if the sky opens up.

What Does a Garza Blanca Puerto Vallarta Wedding Cost?

Let’s talk numbers. Pricing shifts every year, but partner and resort data give us solid ranges for Garza Blanca destination wedding cost planning.

Ceremony packages – Gemstone, Sapphire, Opal

Recent listings show three main ceremony packages:

• Gemstone Ceremony – roughly US $1800-$2000 for up to 50 guests.
• Sapphire Ceremony – around US $2600–$3000 for up to 50 guests.
• Opal (Opalo) Ceremony – in the US $3700–$4000 range for up to 50 guests.

These typically include a non-denominational officiant, basic arch or structure, sound system, and onsite coordination, with additional fee per guest above the base count.

Sounds simple, right? Just remember this is the ceremony line item. Your real spend comes into play with dinner, drinks, and décor.

Reception packages – Gold, Platinum, Diamond

Hola Weddings also lists per-person reception options at Garza Blanca, such as:

• Gold Reception Package – about $130–$140 per person.
• Platinum Reception Package – about $160–$170 per person.
• Diamond Reception Package – about $210–$220 per person.

These tiers usually include a private event space for a set number of hours, open bar, plated or buffet meal, basic décor, and service.

I rarely let couples choose purely on price. We go line-by-line through inclusions so you don’t pay twice for the same thing (for example: a bar package plus drinks already built into your reception package).

Realistic total budget ranges

For a Garza Blanca Puerto Vallarta wedding, a realistic starting point, excluding guest airfare, looks like this:

• 30–40 guests
  • Ceremony + private reception + basic décor + DJ: US $12000–$18000.
• 60–80 guests
  • Ceremony + higher-tier reception package + upgraded décor & lighting + basic photo/video: US $25000–$40000.
• 100–150 guests
  • Multi-day events (welcome party + wedding + farewell brunch), upgraded menus, custom décor, robust photo/video: US $45,000–$80,000 depending on choices.

Hidden costs you should plan for

Here’s where couples get blindsided.

At Garza Blanca and similar luxury resorts, you should anticipate:

• Outside vendor fees – if you bring your own photographer, planner, or DJ instead of using the resort’s preferred list, expect roughly $1000-$2000, sometimes more, depending on category and whether it’s a flat fee or a “day pass” model.
• Extra décor & lighting – florals, upgraded chairs, custom dance floor, string lights, candles, and lounge furniture can easily add US $3,000–$10,000 for mid-sized weddings.
• Catholic church fees/donations & paperwork – diocesan paperwork, translations, and parish donations often land in the US $200–$500 range, not including musicians.
• Hindu and Sikh Weddings – You will need to budget extra for henna, haldi, baraat, Granthi or Pandit.
• Private events tax & service charges – plan for about 16% tax + 10–18% service on food & beverage in Mexico, depending on your contract.

My job is to make sure none of these numbers appear as a surprise line item after you’ve fallen in love with the venue.

Learn more about Destination Wedding Costs here

Download your free Destination Wedding Budgeting Excel sheet

Legal & Documentation Checklist (If You Want a Mexican Civil Marriage)

If you decide your legally binding marriage will take place in Puerto Vallarta, treat it as a separate mini-project, not an afterthought.

Civil marriage basics in Mexico & Jalisco

Across Mexico, civil marriages are handled by the Registro Civil (civil registry). Civil ceremonies are the only type recognized by Mexican law; religious or symbolic ceremonies sit on top of that, not instead of it.
Jalisco and Puerto Vallarta typically require:

• An application at the local civil registry.
• Required health tests (blood work, and sometimes chest X-rays).
• Four witnesses with ID present at the ceremony.
• All documents in Spanish, with apostilles/legalization where relevant.

Typical document list for US/Canadian couples

Expect some version of:

• Passports, valid through your travel dates.
• Mexico tourist cards (FMM), given at entry.
• Long-form birth certificates, apostilled and translated into Spanish by an approved translator.
• Proof of single status or no-record-of-marriage, apostilled and translated, if requested.
• Divorce decrees or death certificates (if previously married), apostilled and translated.
• Pre-marriage course certificate (sometimes required by local authorities).

I recommend you let us coordinate with the local planner and civil registry to confirm the exact list and timelines for your wedding month and municipality. These requirements change more often than most blogs get updated.

When you’re better off doing the legal paperwork at home

For many couples, the cleanest route looks like this:

• Civil/legal marriage at home first (courthouse or small ceremony).
• Symbolic, religious, or Catholic ceremony + reception at Garza Blanca.

You skip foreign translations, tight deadlines, and medical tests abroad—and your Garza Blanca Puerto Vallarta wedding still feels like the “real” wedding because that’s when your people are there, you’re in full attire, and your photographer is shooting every detail.

Timeline – When to Book & Best Time of Year

When to secure your date

Garza Blanca is a relatively small luxury property (around 156 rooms), and prime dates go quickly.

Here’s the cadence I usually recommend:

• 18–20 months out – for Saturday dates in peak season (December–April), especially if you want the Beach or Tierra Luna Forum at sunset.
• 12–15 months out – for shoulder season (May, November).
• 9–12 months out – for weekday weddings or lower-demand dates.

Can you book closer? Sometimes. But don’t make the mistake of assuming “we’ll just figure it out later” if you’re set on a specific weekend.

Weather, seasons & “Consultant Notes”

Puerto Vallarta stays warm year-round, but it doesn’t feel the same in January as it does in September.

• Dry season (roughly November–April) – warm, sunny, lower humidity; widely considered the best wedding window.
• Rainy season (June–October) – hotter and more humid, with afternoon or evening showers more common.
• Hurricane season in the Eastern Pacific runs roughly May/June–November; Puerto Vallarta is somewhat protected by Banderas Bay and surrounding mountains, so direct hits are rare, but heavy rain and storms can still disrupt plans.

Consultant note on timing: If you’re working with a tighter budget and can handle a bit of weather risk, May and November often hit the sweet spot: fewer crowds and better pricing than peak season. I usually nudge heat-sensitive couples away from late August–September—those months can feel sticky, and you’ll lean hard on your backup plan.

Guest Experience & Room Block Strategy

Room categories & who stays where

Garza Blanca offers:

• Deluxe rooms and suites overlooking the bay.
• Larger multi-bedroom residences ideal for families or friend groups who want to share.

Nearby, sister resort Hotel Mousai (adults-only) adds more dining and a different atmosphere under the same overall complex.

What I usually suggest:

• Parents, older relatives, and families with kids stay at Garza Blanca.
• Younger adults and couples who want a grown-up, design-forward environment consider Hotel Mousai—assuming the budget and contract work for everyone.

How many nights to require

For a destination wedding here, the sweet spot is:

• 3-night minimum required in your room block.
• Encourage 4–5 nights for most guests—arrival day, full free day, wedding day, plus a recovery/relaxation day.

Requiring five nights across the board can scare off key guests; we balance your perks with what your people can realistically take off work.

Transportation & on-the-ground logistics

Key logistics to plan for:

• PVR sits about 40 minutes from Garza Blanca; we arrange shared or private shuttles so guests aren’t guessing which taxi line is safe.
• The resort’s hillside layout means some walking plus internal trolleys/elevators; we flag mobility issues early and request strategic room locations.
• For Catholic church ceremonies downtown or in the Romantic Zone, I strongly advise dedicated chartered transport for the wedding party and guests so no one is trying to order Uber in formalwear.

Sample 3-Night Garza Blanca Puerto Vallarta Wedding Weekend

Use this as a starting framework. We tweak the timing, venues, and vibe around your group.

Day 1 – Arrival & Welcome

• Guests arrive mid-day; pre-arranged shuttles to Garza Blanca.
• Afternoon: pool time, spa appointments, casual catch-ups.
• Evening: Welcome cocktail + taco or ceviche station at Terraza or a smaller deck.

Consultant truth: I rarely recommend a formal seated dinner on Night 1. People arrive late, flights get delayed, and forcing everyone into assigned seating that first evening usually adds stress instead of connection.

Day 2 – Play & Rehearsal

• Morning: optional group excursion—Los Arcos snorkeling, whale watching in season, or a guided jungle walk.
• Afternoon: downtime plus hair and makeup trials.
• Evening: Rehearsal and rehearsal dinner at Orange Deck, Tierra Luna Deck, or a semi-private area of one of the restaurants.

We keep speeches short on rehearsal night and save the long toasts for the wedding day when your photo and video teams are rolling.

Day 3 – Wedding Day (plus optional Day 4)

• Late morning / early afternoon: getting ready in suites and residences, photography around the grounds.
• Sunset: ceremony on the Beach or Tierra Luna Forum.
• Evening: private cocktail hour and reception (for example, Forum Tierra Luna or Beach with Sierra Ballroom as the weather backup).
• Late night: after-party in Sierra Ballroom if you want to push past outdoor noise limits.

Optional Day 4: farewell brunch on a terrace or a group catamaran charter if you want one last memory before everyone flies home.

How Luxury Vacations Consulting Supports Your Garza Blanca Wedding

Our role as your planning partner

As your wedding planner – not just a travel agent—we:

• Shortlist the right Garza Blanca venues and dates based on your guest count, ceremony type, and weather tolerance.
• Compare package inclusions across resort and partner options so you don’t overpay or double-book services.
• Coordinate with local planners, the civil registry, and (if needed) Catholic parishes to protect the legal and sacramental side of your marriage.
• Build and manage your room block and group contract, pushing for perks like 1 free room per 10 paid and cash-back style benefits where available.
• Provide guests with travel support so you’re not fielding airport-transfer and passport questions while trying to choose linens.

Next steps

Planning a Garza Blanca Puerto Vallarta wedding involves real moving parts—contracts, legal requirements, guest logistics, weather strategy—not just picking a pretty arch and hoping it all works out.

We handle the behind-the-scenes work so you can focus on the parts only you can do: your vows, your vision, and the people you want in the room.

Contact Luxury Vacations Consulting to schedule a planning consultation and see whether Garza Blanca Preserve Resort & Spa Puerto Vallarta is the right fit for your wedding.

FAQ: Common Questions

Is a wedding at Garza Blanca Puerto Vallarta legally valid in the US/Canada?

Only civil ceremonies performed by a Mexican registry official are legally binding. Most couples choose a symbolic ceremony at the resort and handle the legal civil marriage in their home country to avoid complex translations and blood tests.

How much does a wedding cost at Garza Blanca?

Costs vary widely, but expect to spend roughly $12,000–$18,000 for smaller groups (30-40 guests) and between $45,000–$80,000 for larger luxury events (100+ guests) with full reception upgrades and multi-day activities.

Can I have a Catholic wedding onsite?

Generally, no. Mexican dioceses require Catholic sacraments to take place inside a church. Most couples hold the Mass at a local parish in Puerto Vallarta and return to Garza Blanca for the reception.

What is the best time of year for a wedding here?

The dry season (November to April) offers the best weather with lower humidity. May and November are great “shoulder season” months for better rates, while June through October brings higher heat and a greater chance of rain.